Austin, Texas – Tern, a burgeoning technology startup based in Austin, has been awarded a significant $11.26 million contract by the U.S. Army to deploy its innovative, low-cost alternative navigation technology across military vehicles. This pivotal agreement marks a critical step forward in addressing the growing vulnerabilities of traditional Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in contested operational environments, providing soldiers with what Tern co-founder and CEO Shaun Moore describes as "Google Maps for the battlefield."
The multi-million dollar contract underscores the Army’s urgent need for resilient Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) solutions. While specifics regarding the scale and timeline of the deployment remain confidential, the infusion of Tern’s proprietary technology into Army vehicles is expected to enhance operational readiness and reduce dependence on satellite-based navigation, which has proven increasingly susceptible to disruption. This strategic investment reflects a broader military imperative to safeguard critical navigation capabilities against sophisticated electronic warfare tactics employed by potential adversaries.
The Escalating Threat to GPS Dominance
The U.S. military’s decision to embrace Tern’s non-GPS technology comes amidst a global surge in GPS jamming and spoofing incidents. Reports from conflict zones and strategic regions, particularly in the Middle East and the airspace above Ukraine and Russia, consistently highlight the ease with which GPS signals can be degraded or manipulated. In these contested environments, commercial and military platforms alike have experienced widespread signal interference, rendering conventional GPS unreliable or entirely inoperable.
This vulnerability is not merely a theoretical concern; it has tangible consequences. The U.S. military itself has engaged in GPS jamming experimentation, sometimes with unintended civilian repercussions. A notable incident earlier this year involved a medevac plane crash in New Mexico, which some reports suggested might have been inadvertently influenced by military GPS jamming exercises. Such events underscore the inherent fragility of a system that has become foundational to modern society and military operations. The reliance on a single, albeit robust, satellite constellation for global PNT presents a significant single point of failure that adversaries are increasingly exploiting.
A Decades-Long Quest for Resilient PNT
The pursuit of resilient, non-GPS navigation technologies is not a new endeavor for the U.S. government. For over a decade, legislative bodies and presidential administrations have recognized the strategic imperative to diversify PNT capabilities. During his first term, President Trump issued an executive order aimed at strengthening national resilience through PNT services, emphasizing the need for alternatives to GPS. Similarly, Congress has repeatedly mandated and funded initiatives to develop and integrate complementary PNT systems, acknowledging that GPS, while revolutionary, cannot be the sole solution for critical infrastructure and defense applications.
This historical context reveals a sustained, bipartisan effort to de-risk national security from over-reliance on a potentially vulnerable system. Various approaches, from celestial navigation and terrestrial radio beacons to advanced inertial navigation systems, have been explored. Tern’s solution represents the latest iteration in this ongoing quest, distinguishing itself through its innovative use of existing vehicle data and its low-cost, scalable deployment model.
Tern’s Innovative Approach: "Passive Listening" for Autonomous Navigation
At the core of Tern’s technology is an ingenious method of leveraging the vast amounts of data already generated by modern vehicles. Instead of relying on external satellite signals, Tern’s system "passively listens" to a vehicle’s internal diagnostics board. As co-founder and CEO Shaun Moore explained, "We’ve got a device that plugs into the diagnostics board of the vehicle, wired to a tablet, and then that tablet is the interface for the soldier to use, and we provide both the position and navigation and routing there for the soldier."
This approach fundamentally shifts the paradigm of navigation. By tapping into the vehicle’s existing sensor data – such as wheel speed, steering angle, accelerometer readings, and gyroscope data – Tern’s proprietary algorithms can precisely determine the vehicle’s position, velocity, and orientation without any external input. Moore declined to elaborate on the specific "proprietary methods" employed, but emphasized the significant engineering effort involved in transforming raw vehicle data into accurate latitude and longitude coordinates. "There is quite a bit of work that was done to get it to the point where we can just receive that information and then output latitude / longitude, so big effort by our team," he stated.
The technology’s reliance on "edge processing" means that calculations are performed locally within the vehicle, ensuring real-time positioning and minimizing latency. This makes the system effective in environments where GPS is typically unavailable or unreliable, such as tunnels, dense urban canyons, heavily forested areas, or vast deserts. The ability for a vehicle to determine its own position independently, without transmitting or receiving external signals, is a game-changer for military operations where stealth and signal security are paramount.
A Closed System: Inherent Resilience Against Adversarial Disruption
One of the most compelling features of Tern’s technology, particularly for military applications, is its nature as a closed system. This means it operates entirely independently of external networks, making it inherently resistant to jamming, spoofing, and other forms of electronic interference that plague GPS. Unlike traditional backup systems that might still rely on some form of external input, Tern’s solution functions autonomously, providing a level of resilience that is difficult for adversaries to disrupt.
Moore highlighted the general public’s lack of awareness regarding GPS fragility: "I don’t know that there is broad awareness on the fragility of the [GPS] system from a consumer standpoint. I think people just see the blue dot on their phone and say it will always be there because it’s there now, right? Why wouldn’t it be there?" For military personnel operating in high-stakes environments, this ‘always-on’ expectation is a dangerous illusion that Tern aims to correct. The system’s ability to maintain accurate positioning even when traditional GPS signals are absent or compromised provides a crucial operational advantage, ensuring mission continuity and enhancing soldier safety.
The effectiveness of this closed system was personally validated by Tern’s co-founder, Brett Harrison, who successfully navigated a 1,300-mile journey from Austin to Laguna Beach, California, using the technology. During the entire trip, Tern’s system never lost track of his vehicle’s position, whereas traditional GPS reportedly cut out dozens of times. This real-world demonstration underscores the reliability and robustness of their solution in diverse geographical and environmental conditions.
Leadership Vision and the Veteran’s Imperative
For Brett Harrison, a military veteran who served in Afghanistan as part of a special operations task force, the Army contract represents a profound validation of Tern’s years of dedicated effort. His personal experiences on the battlefield directly fueled the desire to solve the critical problem of unreliable navigation. "From the very foundation of when we decided to embark upon this effort, we recognized it has to be actually deployable, actually scalable, and not a science project," Harrison stated. "We weren’t interested in just seeing what we could prove. We wanted to make sure it actually was something that could get into the wild and serve a purpose."
This ethos of practical, deployable innovation has guided Tern’s development process, ensuring that their technology is not just theoretically sound but robust enough for the rigors of military use. The contract signifies the Army’s confidence in Tern’s ability to deliver a solution that meets stringent defense requirements, from accuracy and reliability to cost-effectiveness and ease of integration.
Broader Implications and the Future of PNT
The U.S. Army’s investment in Tern’s technology carries significant implications beyond the immediate battlefield. Strategically, it signals a definitive shift towards a multi-layered PNT strategy, moving away from sole reliance on GPS. This diversification enhances national security by making military operations more resilient to electronic warfare and cyber threats. It also encourages further innovation in the defense technology sector, stimulating the development of new, alternative PNT solutions.
Economically, the $11.26 million contract provides a substantial boost to Tern, enabling further research, development, and scaling of their operations. It positions the company as a key player in the emerging market for resilient navigation systems, a market projected to grow significantly as both military and civilian sectors seek to mitigate GPS vulnerabilities. The potential commercial applications of Tern’s technology are also vast, extending to autonomous vehicles, commercial logistics, surveying, and other industries where precise and uninterrupted positioning is critical. Imagine delivery fleets, agricultural machinery, or even consumer vehicles benefiting from a navigation system that never loses its way, regardless of signal availability.
Furthermore, this contract could set a precedent for other branches of the U.S. military and allied nations looking to upgrade their navigation capabilities. The "low-cost" aspect of Tern’s solution is particularly attractive, promising a scalable deployment that avoids the prohibitive expenses often associated with advanced defense technologies. This cost-efficiency could accelerate adoption rates and democratize access to advanced PNT capabilities across a wider range of military assets.
Challenges and Outlook
While the contract marks a significant milestone, challenges remain. The integration of any new technology into complex military ecosystems requires rigorous testing, training, and logistical support. Ensuring seamless interoperability with existing systems and robust cybersecurity measures will be paramount. However, Tern’s emphasis on a closed system and passive data acquisition mitigates some of these concerns, offering a relatively straightforward deployment path compared to more complex satellite-dependent alternatives.
Ultimately, Tern’s contract with the U.S. Army represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of navigation technology. It highlights a proactive response to an undeniable vulnerability and underscores the critical role that agile startups can play in providing innovative solutions for national security challenges. As the geopolitical landscape continues to evolve, the ability to navigate precisely and reliably, even in the absence of traditional GPS, will be an indispensable asset for military forces worldwide. The "blue dot" on the map may always be there, but thanks to companies like Tern, its underlying resilience will no longer be taken for granted.
